Comment 26359

By kevlahan (registered) | Posted August 13, 2008 at 10:49:26

Frank, as I mentioned in my post I avoid passing stopped cars.

The main problem is that (in my experience) most drivers do not treat bicycles as vehicles with an equal right to road space.

As seen in letters to the Spec, there is still an attitude in this city that bicycles don't belong on the road. This attitude, combined with high speed, one-way streets designed exclusively for motorists encourages cyclists to do what feels safe or convenient rather than follow the actual rules.

The ultimate solution is to get more cyclists on the streets and design streets all users (motorists, pedestrians and cyclists) so motorists see them as part of the traffic, and a culture of bicycles as vehicles dominates. As you point out, cycle lanes and bike boxes are part of this solution.

The bottom line, however, is that cyclists not obeying the rules is annoying (in the 'unfair' sense), but the real risk is very small compared to the death, injuries and damage caused by motorists. Each year about 20 people are killed in Hamilton by motorists ... when was the last time someone was killed by a cyclist?

When I lived in Cambridge UK a couple of years ago each issue of the local paper was filled with irate letters from seniors complaining about cyclists (and bins left on the sidewalk). The letter writers complained about cyclists making them feel nervous, but there were never any reports of actual injury. Ironically, the news section of the paper regularly carried reports of injuries and death due to motorists, but this didn't produce any outraged letters!

Permalink | Context

Events Calendar

There are no upcoming events right now.
Why not post one?

Recent Articles

Article Archives

Blog Archives

Site Tools

Feeds